The present invention relates to digital computer-based systems and more particularly to data base systems which account for a physical inventory.
At the present time it is known to account for a physical inventory of goods using hand entry into paper records. It is also presently known that a digital computer data system may be used to account for a physical inventory and that part of the information related to each piece of physical inventory may be at the location of each item. For example, a typical inventory system would record that a certain type of tool having an assigned number is located in a specified building. It is also known that each individual item may be named and designated by a label affixed to the item. One type of label which may be used in connection with a digital computer-based inventory system is a bar code label, which label is affixed to the item and having a bar code of black and white parallel stripes readable by a hand-held bar code reader. A person taking an inventory would move from place to place and direct the reading head of the bar code reader at the various bar code labels. A list is automatically prepared by accumulating the information from each bar code label on a portable recording device which is connected to the bar code reader. At a convenient time the recording device will unload the list, which may be compared against the master list or otherwise used as part of the physical inventory system.
A problem is presented when the inventory consists of land and fixtures, and items in or on the land, such as buildings, oil wells, pumps, and items within the building. There is a problem in relating the physical position of the land or the item to a known location. For example, certain tax authorities, such as state or local governments, may wish to levy a tax based on all the personal property owned by the taxpayer on a certain date. The inventory of a large corporation would include items that are within the taxing authority, subject to the personal property tax, and other items which may be outside the geographic area of the taxing authority, although still owned by the corporation. In that example, it is important to know not only the inventory of each item but also its physical location in respect to the geographic scope of the taxing authority.